The death of Kurt Cobain has loomed over the lives of his widow Courtney Love and his daughter Frances Bean Cobain for years, and both mother and daughter are helping out the city of Seattle as they face a legal challenge over the graphic photos from Cobain's death scene.

According to The Blast, Richard Lee has long investigated the notion that Cobain did not kill himself and has avidly sought to have the death photos made public, going so far as to sue the city of Seattle in 2014 in an attempt to have the photos released. Love and Cobain have reportedly filed a response for the city in their legal battle in which they state they would suffer "substantial and irreparable damage" if the photos ever were released.

Lee lost his case in 2015, but filed an appeal last year, with Love and Cobain issuing their new response as a way of fighting the appeal. In the documents, it states that the release of the photos "would not only exacerbate the post-traumatic stress Frances Bean Cobain has suffered since childhood but physically endanger her and her her mother by encouraging more disturbed stalkers and fanatical threats."

In April 2016, Love filed a declaration accusing Lee of attempting to exploit Cobain's death, adding that Lee had stalked and harassed her family and friends for years. "Mr. Lee's actions make me fear for my safety," stated Love in the declaration.